


Hatchling

by obviouslyelementary



Series: Garashir [5]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Adopting, Cardassians lay eggs, Eggs, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Happy, Hatching, Kid Fic, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Parents, Step-parents, Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:27:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26108698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obviouslyelementary/pseuds/obviouslyelementary
Summary: "A flower is about to bloom, my dear."It took Julian a second. A second Garak would not have forgiven him for taking if he hadn't been so overworked in the last few weeks. Despite his slowness to understand Garak's meaning, it eventually came to his understanding, and his eyes widened in a way that was almost comical."On my way."
Relationships: Elim Garak & Original Female Character(s), Julian Bashir & Original Female Character(s), Julian Bashir/Elim Garak
Series: Garashir [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1879216
Comments: 13
Kudos: 87





	Hatchling

**Author's Note:**

> Hmmmmmm this is so cute i dont have anything to say

Garak had never, ever seen his good doctor that agitated before. Not even when he couldn't find the cure to some complicated disease, or when his friends were in peril, not even when he himself was about to die, nothing had ever made the good doctor so extremely energetic as he had been in the last couple of days.

In fact, ever since he and Garak had agreed to this new... step in their lives, Julian seemed to return to his old, before-war ways of showing extreme happiness and contentment. He was always electric, constantly working, a smile never leaving his face. It was like he had a new objective in life, one that was surely smaller and more vulnerable than any others they had ever encountered.

But surely any less interesting.

And after months and months of patiently waiting (or more impatiently waiting, in Julian's case), the day had finally arrived. When the news came, Julian was in the hospital, helping his patients, while Garak took the day off from his work in the government to treat of his garden. It came by their private channel, and Garak checked it while tending to his fire flowers, eyes widening when he read the message, before a smile curled up in his face.

Oh, what a pleasant surprise for a pleasant day.

He put his tools down and called Julian, the smile unable to be hidden, waiting patiently for his favorite doctor to pick up. When he did, it was clear he had come running from wherever he was to his office, the smile breaking on his face the moment he saw Elim on the other side of the screen.

That smile would never allow Garak any ease.

 _"Yes, love?"_ he asked through the line, pushing his hair back and sitting down. _Wrong choice_ , Garak thought, while humming to himself and looking over at his flowers.

"You know, dear doctor, I just received some news about a new flower that is about to bloom" he said, blinking slowly as he collected one of his /purple small/s from the collection, smelling their sweet aroma. He heard Julian chuckle on the other end of the line and looked back at the screen.

 _"You called me for that Elim?"_ he asked, looking both annoyed and amused. _"You know I don't have the time to look through your buds while I'm in the hospital. Not that I would mind but this place is chaos."_

"Oh doctor, what a shame that after so many years with me, you still haven't understood my most gentle demeanors" Garak sighed, shaking his head while smelling the flower again before putting it down. "What a pity..."

 _"Garak"_ Julian groaned, clearly not in the mood for games anymore. He was no fun when he was overworked. _"Love please, just tell me what happened so I can go back to work."_

"I am sorry, _love_ , but I don't think you will be going back to work after I tell you what happened" Garak said, using the human pet name in a slightly sarcastic fashion. He did not like to use it, although he didn't mind Julian calling him by it. He stared deep inside Julian's eyes through the screen, possibly not showing half as much as he wished due to the interference, but making sure it was intense nonetheless, complete with a raise of his eye ridges. "A _flower_ is about to _bloom_ , my dear."

It took Julian a second. A second Garak would not have forgiven him for taking if he hadn't been so overworked in the last few weeks. Despite his slowness to understand Garak's meaning, it eventually came to his understanding, and his eyes widened in a way that was almost comical.

 _"On my way"_ was his only response, before the call ended. Garak couldn't help but smile, standing up and tending to his butterfly petals before heading upstairs to change.

Julian would be there in any minute.

When Julian arrived for the hospital, he barely spoke a word before rushing to the shower. Garak knew there was no rush, not for a few hours at least, and Julian knew that better than him since he was a doctor and all that, but it didn't seem to stop him for trying to be extra fast. He took a shower, changed into comfier clothes and looked at Garak, who patiently waited for him just by the door.

Once they were both out in the streets, the doctor sighed, moving his arm to rest in between Garak's and his side.

"Alright. Let's go" he said, walking slowly through the sideways and leaning against Garak. Garak held him close, smiling politely as ever and bowing to whoever he passed by in the street. "When did you get the note?"

"One minute before I told you, my dear" Garak said, trying to ease his lover's anxiety. "You don't have to worry, we have a few hours still."

"She could be out already, Elim. You know it takes from three to ten hours after they first crack the shell, and it has been two since you called me" Julian replied, shaking his head and looking down at Garak. "Would you like to hatch and have no one there to hold you?"

"Julian. I don't even know how to begin answering that question" he said, in all honestly, because it sounded over ridiculous. As if a baby would know the difference between being held just as it was born and a few minutes later. "My dear, relax. You are making me anxious, and that is almost impossible."

"Sorry Garak I hope I'm not ruining your relaxed mood, my child is about to be born, no big deal" Julian said, loudly, attracting some attention that would have embarrassed Garak had he not become used with his partner's loudness through the many years they were together.

"Our child, my dear, and you have nothing to be anxious about. We have been waiting for this for months, surely you can wait a little longer without becoming aggressive" he teased, smiling at Julian as the doctor sighed and leaned harder against the cardassian.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to" he whispered, looking at Garak and leaning close, brushing their noses together. Something else Garak would have been embarrassed about in his youth, but that he now admired and cherished. "I'm just... we are just about to make this next step and I'm so excited... and so happy... and I love you so much."

"I love you too, dear Julian" he whispered, smiling at him and pulling away as Julian did, seeming calmer and happier. "We will be there soon, and she will be waiting for us."

"I hope she is. I didn't wait for ten months of incubation only to lose my daughter poking her little face out" Julian said, firmly, as if he had never seen a baby cardassian hatch. He was a doctor, for crying out loud. He saw those almost every week.

"Don't be too eager, we still have seven hours to wait in case she doesn't come out straight away, and also, we shouldn't be calling it by female pronouns yet. It is more likely that it's a girl, but it could still be a boy."

"The chances are 97% Garak, those are good odds. Besides it doesn't matter, if he's a boy I'll call him a boy, we have both names picked" Julian said, tangling their fingers together and making the turn towards the hatchling center. "I can't wait to see her. To hold her and smell her and hug her and give her a name... or him. Doesn't matter. Feels like I've been waiting for this all my life."

"Well, you were the first one to bring it up" Garak said, getting a frown from his dear doctor. "Nevertheless I am also excited, I never expected to have an offspring by my own decision."

"Oh yeah, you expected to have a bunch of babies from your one night stands as a spy instead of finding someone you loved and settle down with that someone to raise a good and decent family, I see" Julian teased, he was getting good at it too. "Well I hope you don't mind the shift I made in your life as a bachelor, Garak."

"I surely don't" he said, with a bit less feeling than Julian would have liked, just to see him stare down at him with that adorable frown. "What choice do I have now, however? I am tied up to you, am I not?"

"Yes you are, and you better keep it that way" Julian responded, turning his face away as the building showed up in the next corner. He fastened his pace without realizing, and Garak would have stopped him if his eyes weren't glistening so dam much. Like the prettiest star of Cardassia's night sky.

Finally they reached the doors to the incubation and hatching center, getting inside and finding several families with them, some made up of children and their parents, other single couples waiting patiently. Julian made his way through the crowd, pulling Garak with him and stopping at the reception.

"Hello, how can I help?" the girl sitting behind the desk (her name was Kysh, if Garak's memory was to be believed) said, looking up at them. "Oh, doctor Bashir. Mister Garak. I was expecting you."

"Good" Julian said, and Garak held back from rolling his eyes.

"Please follow me, I will take you to the room" she said, standing up and making her way around the desk. She excused their way through the awaiting parents, taking them inside the hallways of the facility and passing through several doors in the way. Garak took the time to look over them, most of the doors separated by numbers, from one to twenty, then twenty one to forty, and so on. He had never been at a hatchling facility, since it was only used by the common folk, something he certainly was not. For all he knew, he was hatched at home, in a private room. How they knew who's baby was who's, he had no idea.

They got further and further into the facility, reaching a door that seemed to separate the place into two different areas. The next one was slightly closer to room temperature, while the first corridor they passed through was heated up to around 60 degrees Celsius. How Julian had refrained from sweating was beyond Garak, but he did not dwell on those thoughts for long, since they finally stopped in front of a door with the names 'Garak/Bashir' decorating its outside.

After a moment of silence, Julian looked at the girl again.

"Can we...?"

"Of course" she smiled kindly at the clearly paranoid looking human. The cardassians, for obvious reasons, weren't used with humans in their facilities. However, they were extremely grateful and kind towards Julian and his work on the planet after the war. "Just a few reminders, please do not aid the baby, do not touch them until they are fully out of their shell, and use the towels, they come out quite gooey."

She gave them a small nod, especially towards Garak, and left the hallway back to the front of the facility. Garak looked at Julian, waiting for the man to open the door, but he was staring at it with eyes that screamed panic.

Oh no.

"Julian, my dear?" he started, softly, holding his hand firmer and squeezing it a bit, only then seeing Julian's chest move as he breathed. "Shall we?"

"What if she hates us?" he whispered, suddenly, and Garak lowered his eyes to the ground to focus himself on the issue ahead. "What if she hates me? I'm not cardassian... she will be picked on at school, she will dislike my heritage... what if I'm not good enough?"

"I'm sorry my dear, but this is an awful moment to begin questioning a decision we made an year ago" Garak said, hoping his coldness would bring Julian out of this state of worry he had placed himself in. It seemed to help, because the doctor turned to him for support, and he was right there to give it. "We should get in. You said you didn’t want to miss her poking her head out of the shell."

That stupid comment made his doctor smile, and he chuckled softly, giving Garak a nod and opening the door. As it did, the smell of humid air and the scent of egg filled Garak's lungs, something Julian probably couldn't feel. It was quite emotional, if he was being honest, and if Garak hadn't had the training he did for all his life, he would surely be crying. But he remained impassive and walked inside, closing the door behind them and looking over at the aquarium-like structure keeping their egg.

Julian released himself from Garak immediately, walking towards the glass with his eyes wide in amazement. He kneeled down, Garak following and standing next to him, as he watched the egg twitch every now and then, its shell still very intact, asides from a small crack on the side. That was the sign the little cardassian was ready to face the world, but not yet. It still needed some time. Time that both of them would give, wholeheartedly.

Julian watched the egg attentively for an hour before he gave up. By that time, Garak was already used to the scent of the room, and had decided to relax and read the book he had bought the week prior. It wasn't good reading (nothing was nowadays), but it made the time go by faster and there was nothing they could do but wait. Luckily these private rooms had large couches to sit on, comfortable for the families that awaited for their babies to hatch such as they were doing at the moment. This whole ordeal was actually somewhat fascinating to Garak, in a sense that he had never made part of this type of happening in his culture.

Yes, they learned in school that cardassian women laid their eggs when they were fertilized, that the eggs took two months to form inside the cardassian and ten more months to hatch after it was laid, and that women usually had one to three eggs at a time. They also knew that babies had to be kept in constant heat for all those months, and their temperature usually influenced to a certain degree on their sex. Garak vaguely remembered the rare cases of having twins in a single egg, which usually lead one of the babies to die, and he knew that for the first six months of the baby's life they had to eat mushed food because they had no teeth to cut it. He learned all of that in basic biology, but he had never lived that until that moment. He had never even gotten interested in the subject, until now. Now, as he watched Julian tiredly head over to him, lay on the couch and cuddle against him, he wished he knew more to make sure he could comfort both his partner and himself.

Because he could lie to Julian and act as if he wasn't that excited, but truth was, he was terrified of bringing this new life into the world, and failing it like he failed so many others in the past. He knew Julian would never fail their child, but he wanted to make up for the mistakes of his youth. And this little egg that sat in front of them, ready to hatch, well... it was his responsibility now. Their responsibility.

"Do you remember when we heard about this egg?" Julian mumbled, cuddled up to Garak, his head resting calmly against the cardassian's belly. He didn't have to answer for his doctor to continue. "I was so scared they wouldn't find parents for them... that they would be left to be taken care of by the state... even though you assured me cardassians don't usually leave children unhoused I was still scared... and then we just decided to try out for the adoption... god it was the happiest day of my life."

"Happier than when we decided to live together?" Garak asked, teasing him while he read. He slid his finger down to get to the next page when a hand pushed his padd down, his eyes meeting Julian's.

"Unfair" he said, his eyes melting as his face softened. "I love you. I cried on that day. I was so happy you wanted to have a life with me."

"Well dear, I never thought you would want to have a life with me, and I was gladly mistaken" Garak said, a bit more truthfully than he had expected, but sometimes the truth slipped out when he was with Julian, alone. The human smiled, leaning in until his forehead was pressed against Garak's chUfa, their noses barely touching.

"Sometimes I think we are moving too fast for your taste" Julian whispered, barely against Garak's lips, who opened his eyes despite not noticing he had closed them. Julian's were still closed. "Sometimes I... I think I'm pushing you all the time, making you choose things you don't want and pressuring you to move along with me. Sometimes I'm... I'm scared of losing you for my excitement and speed, and I find myself thinking I would never forgive myself if I lost you... and... and..." he tried to continue, but Garak could see the tears getting stuck to his eyelashes as he spoke, eyes still closed, mouth quivering slightly as he clearly tried to hold back.

He could see now, so clearly, his doctor's exhaustion, and his unfounded insecurities. Things he had not yet shared, and Garak understood why, but wanted to make sure he understood that he was wrong in every single way.

"My dear Julian" he whispered, lifting one hand, wiping his eyes gently and watching as those brown, warm eyes opened again to face him, bright with tears that threatened to fall. "Had you said anything sooner, I would have settled your fears... my dear..."

"You were right outside. I shouldn't question the decision we made an year ago. But I can't help it" he whispered, sucking the air through his nose in an ugly sniffle and wiping his eyes. "What if this doesn’t work? What if we fall apart? What if I lose you..."

"You will never lose me, Julian" Garak said his voice firm as he cradled Julian's face with his hands, wiping his tears away from his cheeks, rubbing them with his thumbs. "Never. Not even if you make every single mistake you could possibly make. I love you, and I will always love you."

Julian blinked slowly, a few more tears coming out that Garak quickly wiped away, his mouth curling into a shaky smile at his words. He leaned in, brushing their noses together, before tilting his head and kissing Garak softly to settle their conversation. An easy way of saying _I love you too_ when one was crying.

But their kiss didn't last for long.

No, because while the first cracking sound was quiet and melted into the background, the second was louder and called their attention. They broke apart, eyes widening, and turned to face the aquarium where their egg was laying. Upon their view, Julian was unable to hold back a squeal when he saw that the crack on the egg's side was larger, now forming a hole, and that from that hole had just come out the smallest, cutest little foot he had ever seen.

It was gooey and soggy and it wiggled weirdly, but it was the cutest little foot.

One out limb out, three more to go.

"Are you sure we can't help? She's taking so long..." Julian whined for the third time in the last hour. The two of them had easily pulled the couch closer to the aquarium after the little baby had stopped moving their little foot, and now they had been patiently waiting for another move from their part. Having to control Julian and make sure he wouldn't go against what he himself had learned in medical school was one thing, but even Garak was beginning to feel nervous by how long this baby was taking.

"You heard the madam, Julian. She has to come out in her own pace" he said, his voice calm and steady as he checked the book again. He was reading once more, with Julian sitting next to him, leaning against his own legs and face almost pressed against the glass. There had been some progress from the baby, such as their little leg moving and an arm sticking out from another hole, but not as much as Julian wanted.

"I know Garak I know" Julian whined again, leaning back finally, falling to the side where he met Garak's shoulder. Honestly, he couldn't see how the doctor had been comfortable in such an awful position for more than an hour, but he didn't voice his concerns. "I want to meet her so bad... She's so close..."

"Give her some time, my dear" Garak said, putting the padd down on his side and brushing Julian's hair, watching as his partner closed his eyes for a second. "I know you are eager. So am I. But unlike human babies, that just come out, we cardassians need some time. It's very tiring to get out of an egg."

"You remember when you hatched?" Julian asked, eyes opening and shifting to look at Garak with curiosity. Garak chuckled.

"No my dear, I don't. But I remember taking biology in school, and my teacher explaining that indeed it is very tough for a baby to break out of their shell" he said, gently scratching Julian's scalp, feeling him relax almost instantly. "Cardassian eggs are very though due to their size. But you probably know that, you are a doctor that has been dealing with cardassians for years."

"Well yes I am, but I don't have the... experience" Julian mumbled, blushing just slightly and closing his eyes at Garak's ministrations on his head. "I rarely take care of eggs or recently hatched babies, I usually care for their parents."

"Cardassians are born very strong and matured, indeed. They rarely need medical assistance before they are at least a few months old" Garak agreed, leaning down and placing a kiss to his doctor's head. "Now, would you please rest, my dear? You are overworked and now your anxiety over this hatchling completely drained the little energy you had left."

"Garak, I can't sleep! Our daughter is about to hatch!" Julian complained, opening his eyes again with an incredulous expression. But Garak didn't allow that to stop him, brushing his thumb over the doctor's cheek and humming.

"I will awake you the moment she moves an inch. Now please, doctor, get some rest."

Julian was about to complain, but after looking at the egg in front of them, still not moving, he sighed and moved on the couch to be on top of Garak. He laid his head on the cardassian's chest, closing his eyes, and hugged his waist while Garak kept scratching his scalp.

"Please wake me up, no matter what" he whispered, and Garak nodded, kissing his head again and feeling his love relax.

"Of course, my dear" he whispered, looking at the egg and awaiting patiently for it to break.

As expected, it took the little cardassian another two hours before it moved again. However this time, things seemed more interesting. As promised, Garak awoke Julian the moment the egg began to move, and after a moment of sleepiness, the human was sitting up again and watching attentively. The egg moved, wobbled a bit to the sides, a hand poking out from the previous leg hole, before it slipped inside again. The egg stopped all movement for a few seconds, and Garak heard Julian taking in a breath and holding it, before the space between the holes cracked and out of the larger hole came out two little hands that slowly, gently pulled and pushed around the shell, tipping the egg over and finding its way to the fluffy leaves around the aquarium, pulling onto them as it emerged.

Even Garak was unable to hold back a smile filled with fondness as the little head poked out, eyes tightly closed around the gooey substance that surrounded the baby's whole body, and it easily pulled out all the way, crawling over the leaves blindly and having its tiny tail be the last limb to come out of the egg.

And there it was, an empty egg and a small baby cardassian surrounded by egg goo.

"Oh my god" Julian breathed out, and when Garak looked at him, the man was shivering and his eyes were spilling tears. "Can I hold her now? Please? Elim?" he whispered, turning to face him, his cheeks pink and his eyes bright and teary. Garak swore he had never seen his dear Julian so happy, it made his cold heart squeeze with warmth and happiness.

"We should get the towels" he said, standing up from the couch with Julian right at his tail. They took the fluffy towels and came back to the aquarium, opening the front door while the baby sat down in the middle of the leaves, silently. They shared a glance and Garak nodded, allowing Julian to pick them up first, and he beamed with happiness before leaning down and wrapping the baby on the towels. It made a gurgling sound, the remaining egg goo making bubbles on its mouth as it made sounds, but Julian seemed to just glow brighter as he wiped the baby's face and held it close to his chest, all wrapped in fluffy warm towels.

After a moment of hesitation, Garak stepped closer and began helping Julian clean the baby at their best abilities, wiping the head and face, being gentle with the ridges and scales, still so soft and moist. They would shed those in a few days, giving place to thicker scales, but for now it was just a soft and warm baby cardassian in their hands.

"I told you it was a girl" Julian whispered, showing Garak the bright blue chUfa and neck ridges. Garak shook his head, wiping her little eyes, all while she let out another soft sound that wasn't so gurgled anymore.

"All baby have bright blue scales, Julian" Garak said, even though he knew the doctor was right. Such a bright shade of blue was rarely found in baby boys. Julian, however, just smiled at him and looked down at their baby, nested sweetly on his arms.

"She is lovely" he whispered, brushing his thumb against her cheek, and the touch seemed to make the baby aware, her eyes blinking open very slowly, to revel the cardassian typical bright blue eyes. They were huge too, much brighter than Garak had imagined. "Oh! The eyes just came to say hello! Hello baby" Julian cooed, brushing her cheek again with his thumb, and Garak had never heard the man's voice like that. It was such a strange sound. "Hello baby... I'm daddy... daddy Julian... and this is yadik Elim. Say hello Elim" he looked at Garak, showing the baby to him, her bright eyes slashing their way into his soul. He felt vulnerable, out of the sudden.

"Hello" he said, confused. For all he knew, cardassians didn't talk to their newborns like this. But Julian was not a cardassian, of course. Julian pouted at him, apparently not agreeing with his formal manners, and looked back at the baby, rocking her a bit in his arms.

"Yadik is not used with babies, don't worry. He will learn. You are so cute baby, yes you are" he cooed some more, rocking her and gently kissing her nose, and the baby's eyes widened before she giggled, or at least the cardassian equivalent to giggle, which were very short hissing noises in succession. Julian knew that, and he could see the curling up of the baby's lips, so it was clear she was happy. "You like nose kisses? I'll give you more nose kisses! Nose kisses for baby!" he gasped, giving her several small kisses on the small nose, giggling with her as she pushed his face away with her little hands, the smile still bright on her face.

Garak was certain he was having some sort of heart attack right now, because his chest had never felt so small for heart, which seemed to have increased by 400% in that small period of time.

"Julian, my dear. You are going to choke her" he said, quietly, almost softly, something he didn't like doing but at the moment, he simply couldn't help himself. Julian looked over at him, the baby giggling happily and reaching out for his hair without a single care in the world.

"Do you want to hold her?" he asked, offering her to Garak, and he almost stepped away out of instinct upon seeing that small little cardassian in front of him, so vulnerable, still somewhat dirty, and yet the most beautiful thing Garak had ever seen. He looked back at Julian, his eyes bright and happy, and after a moment of silence he agreed, nodding and stretching his arms, where Julian placed the small hatchling.

She was small, she was cute, she was warm due to her egg temperature. She was surrounded by fluffy towels, her eyes wide and bright as she stared at him, trusting, sweet, happy, as if he was someone that deserved her smile, her happiness. He wasn't, he knew that very well, and yet he couldn't help himself but to pull her closer, brush her hair back and gasp when she picked his finger and squeezed it tightly. Her tail moved contently between his arms, showing how comfortable she was in his arms. It was incredible. Beautiful.

"Oh my" he whispered, unable to stop himself, his sight slightly blurry. "I believe that in fact your human manners have been rubbing off on me, my dear doctor. I am currently crying over a small child, for no other reason than the fact that I am holding it."

"Elim..." Julian whispered, walking closer and wrapping his arms around the cardassian's waist, leaning over his shoulder to look at the baby in his arms. "There's nothing wrong with a little bit of sentiment every now and then. Is there?"

"I believe not" he agreed, caressing the baby's chUfa and watching as she stopped giggling and yawned loudly, eyes blinking as she settled, clearly tired out of the sudden. "Yes, I know. Breaking an egg is no easy job. You must be tired."

"Garak, are you talking to the baby?" Julian asked, his grin growing insanely, and Garak felt his cheeks cooling and turning blue before he looked at his lover. "You said you would never!"

"She is a child, she needs to be aware of language or else she will never learn how to talk" he responded, shaking his head and looking back at the baby, who had made her bedding against Garak's chest, holding tightly onto the towels. "I believe we should go home now. She is clearly in need for a shower and some sleep."

"I couldn't agree more" Julian said, gathering their things and smiling at Garak before he collected the egg shell and put it inside a box that was provided to them. Garak couldn't help the roll of his eyes, but Julian didn't seem to mind, giving the man a kiss and nodding. "Lets go?"

"Of course. But I still find egg shell to be a little... too much" he said, knowing that no cardassian family had held onto their children's eggshells for decades now. Yet, the fact that Julian wanted to keep it was somewhat endearing. Julian gave him a frown and held the box tighter, while they walked towards the door.

"I want her to see it when she grows up. That's all. It's cute" he said, shaking his head. He looked over at her in Garak's arms and smiled. "Oh, she is deep asleep. I think she likes your arms rather than mine."

"It is instinct I'm sure" he responded, following his doctor to the entrance of the facility. "She will get used to your human touch soon."

"I hope so. But honestly, seeing you like this is more than enough for me" he said, leaning close to Garak and kissing his cheek fondly. "I love you, Elim. And I love our new family."

"I love you too, my dear" he answered, smiling calmly at Julian. "But we are not having more children, at least until she is completely grown up."

Julian laughed at that, making the girl wiggle on Garak's arms, but he knew that was an empty promise. He would do anything for his Julian, and now, he would do anything for this new creature in his arms.

Oh, how life had tricked him.

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you loved it because i did


End file.
